I was disappointed that you say “we can’t all afford electric cars … and huge solar arrays.” EVs (in the US at least) are some of the most affordable vehicles. You can get a used leaf for as low as 15k. A new lease starts at 200 a month. In some states, its lower, as low as 70 a month. The Leaf, after federal incentives, is 21k, while the average new car costs ~50% more than that. The Leaf SV is only 1-2k more than a comparable Honda Accord (same size class, similar quality, similar options). For MANY families, a new Nissan Leaf will either break even or save them money. Virtually anyone can afford solar now. Don’t want to sign a long term loan or write a big check? Then you can lease them for as little as zero down and pay less per month for the power they produce than your power rate.

Lindsay Wilson

It is a page, not a post, so it doesn’t have comments. I’ve got lots of students that read this, I can assure you that if you don’t own a home and can’t afford a crappy old car than an EV or solar is out of the question. Nor should all people want solar or EVs. What’s wrong with a bicycle and a green electricity provider?

Randy

There is nothing wrong with that, but if someone can afford a new car, they can probably afford an EV, and if someone can afford a home, they can certainly at least lease solar panels. Most people in the US have to drive a lot, everything is spaced out, and for many people, the Leaf is the most cost effective car available. I just don’t like how that implies these are both more expensive options, when often they actually save money.

Lindsay Wilson

Sure, that is a fair critic. It really does depend on milage. At low mileage per year you can’t make and economic argument, whereas at high mileage it is a no brainer. Solar not dissimilar to be fair

Randy

You can make an economic argument, if you are buying a new car anyway. Otherwise a used EV may make sense. Although I wouldn’t like to see a nice, used Leaf (available for as low as 15k USD now) go to someone only driving 4k miles a year, I think they should get a lower efficiency vehicle so someone else can have that efficient one. If an old woman only drives to church twice a week and only drives 2k miles a year, then no, it doesnt make sense, but this isnt the average car buyer… This is the one that should be driving an old, inefficient car.

Its important to remember that there are many more benefits to getting a new[er] EV than just economics too. No one upgraded from a CRT to an LED TV for economics.

I love solar, I loved experimenting with it and running my electronics off of it. I set up a small off grid circuit to run my electronics off of it so I would still have internet, my computer, and cell phone service when the power went out (assuming the cable didnt go out too). I lived in a forest, so I had to use a “mini cell phone tower,” which went through the cable company. Some other person must have spent the insane amount of money it costs to have the cable company send the cable out there…

Lindsay Wilson

The carbon argument really does depend where you live, the grid dictates whether solar or EV makes more sense on carbon. But to be honest if you stick them on a MAC curve they aren’t great investments for carbon cutting. At a global level the idea that we can all have cars is quite a stretch. The manufacturing emissions alone make it almost untenable. If you want to talk about health, society, economics and utility, best to look a bit closer at the bicycle

ivyespalier (Randy)

Here in Poland, I don’t have a car and dont need one. In the US, its hard to even walk in many larger cities because many roads don’t even have sidewalks. One advantage to getting an EV is that you are investing in a new technology, which will continue to grow and build marketshare.

I wonder if EVs will make urban sprawl worse in the US, sense they are so damn cheap to drive. The US subsidies houses. Why not tax houses and actually design cities?

Randy

Now that I live in Poland, I live in a building with no air conditioning. Its not bad either, it was always a lot warmed in Ohio, so it doesnt even feel hot here.